A Balanced Time Perspective and Burnout Syndrome in the Corporate World

Abstract

Burnout syndrome is officially classified in the International Classification of Diseases as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress. Each year it is having an increasingly negative impact on the mental and physical health of employees, as well as on health costs and business performance. With this study, we aim at verifying whether there is a greater propensity for burnout depending on an individual’s time perspective, based on the framework of Christina Maslach’s burnout syndrome theory (consisting of three burnout dimensions), and Phillip Zimbardo’s Time Perspective (consisting of five distinct temporal profiles). Within the time perspective construct, we focused on an indicator of temporal adaptation, referred to as a Balanced Time Perspective (BTP). We used the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory on a sample of 129 Polish corporate employees. We found that two dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion and feelings of personal achievement) were significantly correlated to a balanced time perspective, while the third (depersonalization) did not pose a significant correlation. This underlines the interrelationships between personality and burnout, which gives way to one possible solution towards the danger of burnout syndrome—balancing an individuals’ time perspective through measures such as Time Perspective Therapy. We believe that the awareness of one’s temporal profile gives way to supplement gaps in one time perspective, while deterring the excessive effects of another, resulting in a more balanced time perspective, greater mental health and protection from burnout syndrome.

Embodying Consciousness through Interoception and a Balanced Time Perspective

“…In one study by Olivera-Figueroa et al [ 69 ], results have shown that the greater the deviation from the BTP, the greater the cortisol systemic output. Stress levels are highly associated with burnout syndrome, also found to relate to a balanced time perspective [ 70 , 71 ]. This points to a direction in which TP profiles are associated with stress physiology, which calls for the exploration of a psychobiological modulation of time perspective and bodily signals, as measured by the interoceptive awareness of an individual.…”

Burnout and Workplace Conflicts: A Faculty's Perspective From Santiago City Higher Education Institutions

“…Interventions can be adopted at both the organizational and human levels to reduce burnout and increase engagement at work. Burnout's emphasis on social aspects, the syndrome's strong scientific foundation, and its distinct links to the workplace all have a distinctive and profound impact on people's health and well-being [5].…”

A Time to Get Vaccinated? The Role of Time Perspective, Consideration of Future Consequences, Conspiracy Beliefs, Religious Faith, Gender, and Race on Intention to Vaccinate for COVID-19 in the United States

“…On the case of well-being, a recent study conducted in Chile reported that, together, BTP and mindfulness promote optimal functioning through psychological well-being by alleviating or reducing discomfort [ 26 ]. Concerning discomfort, research conducted on burnout syndrome across employees of large corporations in Poland showed that high levels of BTP were correlated with feelings of personal achievement, whereas lower levels of BTP were correlated with emotional exhaustion [ 27 ]. Furthermore, the importance of BTP in preventing burnout was also confirmed across healthcare professionals in Germany [ 28 ].…”